Morphology of accessory genital glands of spotted paca (Agouti paca Linnaeus, 1766)

Abstract

The spotted paca is the second largest rodent in Brazil, where it is of great economic interest in impoverished regions in view of its prominence as a low-cost source of protein. Little is known about the morphology of the accessory genital glands of this species. Thus, we studied the position and morphology of the genitals in ten adult male spotted pacas. The animals were divided into two groups, five animals were used for fixing of samples in 10% aqueous formaldehyde for macroscopic studies and the other five animals were designated for microscopic analysis. These were arranged in pairs and had the vesicular, prostate, coagulating and bulbourethral glands identified, being structured as mucous glands, which lead into the pelvic urethra. It was concluded that the accessory genital glands found in the paca are the same as those found in most rodents, showing similar histological aspects.